Dayquil and Breastfeeding

When you have a baby, the only concern that you have is the health of your child. In the mean time, when you are taking care of your baby, a cold can attack your body too. Usually you go straight for some over-the-counter drugs, especially Dayquil, but you have to think before taking the steps of consuming any medications. The most important thing about the drugs in breastfeeding period is the possibility that the drug can go into the breast milk and effect and harm your baby.

Is Dayquil Safe When Breastfeeding?

Dayquil is very common over the counter drug when you have a cold or a flu. And it comes in a lot of formulations and mixtures for various occasions:

When asking yourself if it’s smart and should you do it, you should first read the label of the medicine. It usually says it’s safe, unless you’re nursing, pregnant or maybe some other conditions. It depends really of your state, depends on the ingredient of the medicine, age of the baby, size etc. Some don’t pass the barrier and don’t go inside the milk, some do. Some medications are safe, but you should use precaution. When you’re at that stage that you are not sure if it is safe, it is best to ask your doctor and lactation consultant about it to be positive.

There are some reasons that you would use this medications even if it doesn’t harm your baby during breastfeeding, which are: high pressure, some vessel disease, hearth disease with some arrhythmia and if you are allergic to any kind of ingredients inside the medication.

Natural Remedies For Flu

If you are the person who will prefer to keep it safe and try with some natural procedures to overcome cold and weakness that goes with it, you can try some of those tricks:

Drinking something warm. When you are cold and you tremble, you want something warm and cozy to feel better. The best cure for this is a hot tea, a chicken soup or something else warm. The warmth of the drink can open your sinuses and you will instantly feel better and refreshed, and you will be able to breathe properly.

Moisten the air. This is important, especially in the winter when the air is dry and can further cause sinus irritation. Use some of those air humidifiers and you can add some essential oils for keeping the house fresh and smelling nice. It can help you expectorate the mucus inside the sinuses easier if it diluted, and the cold will pass more quickly.

Steam yourself. This is an old technique which we use since forever and it works every time. If you don’t have inhaler, you can use some pot with hot water, you can even add one of those eucalyptus drops inside and cover yourself with towel over your head and breathe deep for at least a couple of minutes, and you will feel less congested. Also, it’s good for the skin.

Neti pots for the advanced ones. If you haven’t tried before the Neti pot, you should. It uses saline water to clear your sinuses and it is all natural ingredients which can’t hurt your baby. It doesn’t go any further than your nose. It is very good and it has history behind it. Read the label for instructions and use clear salt water.

Ginger, the tasteful medicine. Ginger is the kind of vegetable that has many ways of uses. It is very healthy and it has unique and strong flavor. You can make a tea out of ginger root and add some honey to it or lemon and you will be delivering your body a healthy drink which can boost your metabolism in no time.

Gurgling like a medicine. Some people use salt water to gurgle which can help break up the mucus and to cough out the bad things from your organism and help you with breathing properly.

Drugs That Are Safe For Breastfeeding, Other Than Dayquil

Here is the list of some drugs that are usually safe in standard doses in the period of breastfeeding:

Decongestant nasal sprays (Afrin) – Used to treat stuffy noses

Caffeine (up to 3 drinks/day) – (coffee, soft drinks) – A stimulant

Erythromycin (E-Mycin, Erythrocin) – Used for skin and respiratory infections

Fexofenadine (Allegra) – Antihistamine for allergies and hay fever

Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) – Used for pain relief

Inhalers, bronchodilators, and corticosteroids (Ventolin) – Used for asthma

There is a whole bunch of medicines that are safe, they are not all on the list. Luckily, there is a way to check if the medicine is safe for using it during breastfeeding. There is the LactMed® database that contains information on drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. There are so many drugs that you cancheck it out on the link. It is updated every month.

Using Necessary Precaution Steps

When taking a medicine and breastfeeding, the formula is to take the medicine if you really need it.

Take the lowest possible dose and don’t ever go over the limited dosage.

If you’re taking the medicine, take if right after the breastfeeding. That way your baby will be the least exposed in the next breastfeeding time.

Don’t take drugs for extended period of time since it can create not just the possibility of some effects on your baby, but some drugs can cause raise of tolerance and addiction, like corticosteroid sprays for nose and others.

When using the drugs, take the ones that don’t have a slow release formula and it has the fast transit through the blood and organism.

The last advice is to have breast pumps and use them in the time you are taking the medications. That way you will be safe and when you get done with taking the medications, you can safely continue to breastfeed with no worry of the health of your baby.